Gov. Walker says Wisconsin has more jobs than able bodies to work them

Walker says employers are asking for basic skilled workers that can pass a drug test.

Wisconsin has more jobs than people, according to Governor Scott Walker. He, once again, is making the case that Wisconsin is in an economic rebound.

So, the state really needs people willing to work. Walker, at a luncheon Thursday in Madison, said there are tens of thousands of jobs that are simply lacking warm bodies … clean, warm bodies.

“I hear from so many employers who say,” Walker explained, “‘Yeah, it’s great, all the training and education you’re doing. But I need workers now. And I need people who can do two basic things: People who know basic, fundamental job skills and people who can pass a drug test.'”

Which is why Walker wants the state to tie drug tests to things like unemployment benefits and food stamps. They are not punitive, he insists.

“Unlike other states that have had drug tests in the past, that just kicked people off, we don’t kick them off,” Walker said. “If somebody fails a drug test, we put money, we put money where our mouth is, in our budget, we in the legislature, in the past, have said, ‘We put money in, so they go directly into rehab.'”

The federal government has denied the state’s request to implement some drug testing measures that have been on the books for more than a year because they violate federal rules. And, the feds, so far, have been unwilling to grant Wisconsin a waiver.